When you apply for and use the new FREE Pet Rescue By Judy Platinum Visa® Rewards Card, the bank will donate $50 and a percentage of all your future purchases on the card to Pet Rescue By Judy, Inc.!
Orlando Fun Partners' is having a Valentine Bash on Wednesday, 02/10, from 2p - 6p. All pet supplies will be donated to Pet Rescue by Judy.
Come Meet Us at the Mall!
PRBJ has an ADOPTION CENTER at Oviedo Marketplace. We will be open every Saturday and Sunday from 12p - 6p except for Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day. We will have dogs, cats, puppies and kittens as well as many wonderful items for your pet.
Click here to go to our shopping page where a percentage of sales goes to helping the animals at Pet Rescue by Judy.
Items Needed:
We are in need of 42" and 48" metal dog crates as well as ferret-style metal crates (for our kittens). Our equipment goes through serious wear and tear and some of our older crates are barely usable. We want our animals to be safe and comfortable with us while they wait for their forever homes.
How To Meet Our Pets
Want to know where we'll be each weekend? Check out our Events Calendar! On Saturdays we are at Petco (Bumby and E. Colonial Drive). We are also at our NEW LOCATION inside the Oviedo Marketplace Mall every Saturday and Sunday from 12p - 5p. Plus, we are often invited to additional events as well. You are welcome to visit our cats and dogs 7 days a week, noon 'til 4pm, at our Adoption Center in Sanford. Many, if not most, of our pets are in foster homes so if you are hoping to meet a specific one, it is best to first submit an online adoption application. We will then arrange a private meet for you and your family. We accept cash, money order, check or credit card for adoption fees.
We now have two places for you to meet our Cats. You can come to our Sanford Adoption Center or our Oviedo Marketplace Mall location. Otherwise, we do not like to stress our cats out by bringing them to off-location adoption events. You'll just love our open cat room and our broad selection of cats. Right now we have just about every type of cat imaginable. If you adopt a pair of adult cats, we will happily discount their fee.
If you are not in a position to adopt, won't you consider fostering? We are in great need of foster homes, especially for puppies and kittens. We are absolutely topped off with pets and are having to turn them away. This breaks our heart because many of these pets will end up at a kill shelter. When you foster, you save a life! As a foster, we'll provide the food and medical care; you provide the love. If you are interested, just complete the Foster Application.
Never Post "Free To Good Home"
You've seen the ads, "Fuzzy Kittens Free To Good Home" "Adorable Puppy Free To Good Home." You probably think, "Oh, how sweet." We think, "Oh No!!!!" Why? Because we have seen too many cases like Shader, the Pit Bull that we recently rescued. This poor dog was used over and over as a bait dog to train fighters. He was covered in old scars and fresh wounds. Where do you think people who train fighting dogs get their bait animals? They don't want to spend money so they often pose as loving people looking for a free pet. Never, never, never give away a pet to anyone you don't know well. Always ask an adoption fee. If possible, do a home inspection. And have them sign a contract like ours that requires the pet be returned to you if they are unable to keep it. Watch this video of Shader and you will see why we are so strong about this!
Our wonderful Jackie has nursed Shader back to health and originally had planned to keep him ~ she'd fallen into the trap that we all do, "No one will love him as much as I do." But he is doing so well and has turned into such a love muffin whose greatest joy is rearranging her couch cushions, that she has decided to make him available for adoption. Of course, who ever wants him will have to pass her standards! :~)
Every day I have conversations with people about our dogs and cats. And every day I am suprised at the statements that I hear. One person actually said to me, "I don't want a used pet." Another said to me, "You just don't know what you are getting with a rescued pet. They always come with baggage." Such statements are difficult for me to hear but easy for me to respond to.
When it comes time to add a pet to your home, you pretty much have three choices: a pet store, a breeder or a rescue. 95% of pets in a pet store come from puppy mills. Dogs are considered a commodity in puppy mills, kept in small, often unsanitary, crates, bred continuously until worn out, with no regard to genetic problems. These puppies can have physical issues that present themselves later in life, or worse yet, overbreeding can result in the extreme display of undesirable personality traits ~ hyperactivity, territorial instincts, aggressiveness.....
If you go the breeder route, you have to be extremely careful of the breeder. Some breeders are not a lot better than puppy mills in that they do not screen their dogs for genetic problems or personality issues. They may have a cute dog that they breed with a neighbor's because they think it will be a fun experience for the family, or they may breed their dog for the extra income. If they have not had the dogs thoroughly screened first by a vet and researched its family tree, they do not really know what they are producing. My "favorite" ones are those who crossbreed and create names for them like "Golden Doodle," "Bully Bassett," or "Shihdoodle." We never cease to be amazed at people who will pay top dollar for these mutts because someone has labelled them "Designer Breeds." Uh, ok.....
A quality breeder invests in genetic and personality screening, but you can expect to pay a significant amount for their puppies. They produce only dogs that are up to breed standards and they screen their potential families extensively. If you are determined to get a purebreed, a quality breeder is the only way we would recommend.
So why would you consider a rescue dog? Most of them come to us due to family difficulties ~ financial downturns, moving, divorce and such. They are wonderful pets with no issues who are as mystified as to their situation as we are. Some of them come out of abusive situations. These are the ones for which my heart breaks. They cower when a newspaper page is turned, a hand is raise, a person moves quickly toward them. They long to trust and be loved, and in a safe home they usually quickly turn into the exuberant pets they were meant to be. Some pets come to us because of unacceptable behavior ~ aggressiveness, not housebroken, hyperactivity. We clearly identify these issues to potential adopters. We work with the pets while they are in our care to help overcome them. We even have professional dog trainers who work with some of them and their adopting families to ensure that they behavior is modified. In other words, we strive for no returns due to suprises. Our goal is to match the right pet with the right family. Our screeners will frequently approve a family to adopt but direct them toward a more approriate animal than the one for which they applied. No one can promise you that the dog or cat you take into your home will be perfect, whether from a pet store, a breeder or a rescue. But we can promise that we will do our utmost to match you with the right animal, that we will be honest in our assessment of the pets in our care, and that, when you adopt a rescued pet, you have saved a life. There is a certain joy in just that last statement ~ you have saved a life!
Do You Blog, Tweet or use Facebook???
Do you enjoy blogging? Are you a Facebooker? Do you Tweet? We have some wonderful places you can go to gather information, exchange ideas, or just chat. Rebekah has set up aPet Rescue By Judy Facebook. You can follow us on Twitter at @PetRescuebyJudy. Teena of University of Doglandohas a great blog plus lots of other neat info on her website. Mike of Bark Busters has training tips and can answer your questions. And there are more sources listed on our Ask The Dog Trainer and Resources For Pet Owners webpages.
Fundraising Opportunites!
There are lots of easy ways to help raise money for the abandoned pets of Central Florida. Here are a few!
Don't Google ~ Use Goodsearch Instead!!! When you need to find something on the internet, use http://www.goodsearch.com/ and select Pet Rescue By Judy as the charity for which you search for. Each time you search, we will receive one penny! So far we have raised over $1,000. Cool! Tip: click Verify after you enter Pet Rescue By Judy and it will automatically be downloaded as your choice in the future.
Help Pet Rescue By Judy - PRBJ every time you shop online and search the web by downloading the GoodSearch/GoodShop toolbar! Each time you shop at one of more than 1,000 participating top stores (from Amazon to Zazzle!), Pet Rescue By Judy - PRBJ will earn a percentage of the purchase price – at no extra cost to you! It also includes a search box and each time you search the web, about a penny is donated to Pet Rescue By Judy - PRBJ. http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbars.aspx?charityID=848019
Recycle Your Used Ink/Toner Cartridges and Cell Phones. We are working with a recycling company that pays us cash in exchange for these items. Just drop off the items at one of our adoption events or our Sanford Center. And recruit your neighbors, friends and coworks to participate as well!
Use Natural Balance Pet Food. If you use Natural Balance Pet Food (and WE DO - it's our preferred food!), you can help by sending us your UPC labels and receipts! For every 50 we send in, the wonderful folks at Natural Balance will give us a donation! Natural Balance is available from Pet Supermarket and PETCO. In exchange for your kindness, you will get our sincere gratitude and as many wagging tails and purrs as you can stand!
Donate a Kuranda Bed! Our new indoor runs are so big there is plenty of room for a bed, and our pets love to sleep on Kuranda beds, but we do not have enough for everyone. If you would like to donate a bed at discounted price, please click kuranda.com.
Shop On Line! If you're doing a little shopping for your pet, you have to check out this website, Helping Udders. Gotta love the name! You can buy all kinds of cool stuff for your dog, things that aren't available through local stores. But here is the neatest part ~ when you designate Pet Rescue By Judy as your charity of choice, we will receive 10-25% of the proceeds from the sale! Wow! This is soooo cool!!! I think I'll use some more exclamation points! !!!!!!!!! There, that feels better. So go to Helping Udders, spend lots of money spoiling your dog and rationalize that you're only doing it to help the poor abandoned pets at Pet Rescue By Judy!
How To Meet Our Pets
If you are considering adopting one of our pets, please create a login and username, and fill out an Adoption Application. It will speed up the adoption process significantly! Once you are approved, we will set up a meet and greet at our Adoption Center or at one of our adoption events. Please check our Events for scheduled opportunities.
Have You Adopted A Pet From Us?
If so, please e-mail us a "family photo" and a few comments so we can post them on our Family Photo Gallery! It makes us so happy to see our pets settled in to homes that love them forever! Even if you can't e-mail a photo, we'd love to get an update from you to post on our Success Stories webpage. And thank you for giving a loving to to a rescued pet!
Would You Like To Get Involved?
Would you like to help? We are always in need of Foster Homes . Fostering for a week or a month can make a difference in an animal's life. Also, we welcome help with feeding, cleaning, adoptions, paperwork, photography - whenever you have the time to give, we appreciate you. Apply to be a Volunteer ! And, of course, we are always in need of donations - money, food, crates, towels,etc. You can even come to the aid of a specific animal through our Sponsorship Program . Thank you! And remember, always spay and neuter your pets!!! Here is a thoughtful photo journal to make the point.
Are You Associated With A Rescue Group?
If so, please take a few minutes to look over our website. If you like what you see and think such a website would benefit your rescue, please contact www.rescuegroups.org They are a volunteer organization that hosts websites for rescues throughout the country and they are unbelievable! Through them we are able to provide varying levels of website access to volunteers based on their needs, receive online applications, and list our pets once but have them automatically downloaded to the major rescue pet search sites. All of this for around $150 a year! The services of Rescue Groups has allowed us to take our rescue to a whole new level, to be more efficient, more responsive, more capable of saving more lives. Please, contact them and see if they can help you. You can just click on the dog paw on the sidebar of this page. And let them know Judy sent you. You'll be glad you did!!! And even if you aren't a volunteer with a rescue, would you consider sending Rescue Groups a donation? They help numerous pets around the country to find new forever homes by offering their service at an incredibly low cost. Please help them continue to help us! Thanks!!!
Shop On Line! If you're doing a little shopping for your pet, you have to check out this website, 
